About one in three people with a credit file in Abbeville County, South Carolina, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Abbeville County, 35.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 86% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 63% of U.S. counties.
What drives Abbeville County's score
In Abbeville County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 80.1. People with a car or retail loan behind: 9.6%, August 2025, higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 78.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Abbeville County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Abbeville County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (49.1, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 80.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.5% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.6% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.9% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
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- 78.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202677th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.8% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
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- 61.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.7% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.9% · 202467th percentile
- People with a disability12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- People without health insurance10.1% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,365 · 202477th percentile
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- 48.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.5% · August 202587th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people49.1 · 20259th percentile
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- 23.1 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent12.1% · 2020 to 202419th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.5% · fiscal year 202726th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Abbeville County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Abbeville County, 22.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Abbeville County
South Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Abbeville County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 34.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Abbeville County, South Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 34.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Abbeville County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 20.0% in 2019 to 15.8% in 2020.
The share of households in Abbeville County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 13.0% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Abbeville County, South Carolina.
How Abbeville County has changed
Abbeville County's population had its largest rise, from 20,596 in 1969 to 21,860 in 1974.
Abbeville County's population rose by about a fifth from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24,607
High on the chart: 26,235 in 2004. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Abbeville County, South Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Abbeville County had its largest drop, from 6,919 in 2005 to 5,445 in 2010.
The number of jobs located in Abbeville County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 7,666 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Abbeville County, South Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.7% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.3% | 2024 16.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,260 | 2024 $57,365 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Abbeville County's history
1785
Designated 1785 from Ninety-Six District, with parts later going to create Greenwood and McCormick counties. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 34,804. The 2020 Census counted 24,295, 70% of the peak. Census Bureau
1973
A tornado in March 1973 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed seven people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in March 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A tornado in April 2009 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Abbeville County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Abbeville County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Abbeville County, in South Carolina and Georgia, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Abbeville County ranks 4th of the six; McCormick County is highest, at 45.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elbert County, GA | 82 | 17.7% | 35.4% |
| Laurens County, SC | 80 | 16.9% | 36.9% |
| Greenwood County, SC | 67 | 16.3% | 31.6% |
| Abbeville County, SC | 63 | 16.7% | 34.9% |
| Anderson County, SC | 56 | 13.1% | 26.6% |
| McCormick County, SC | 52 | 13.4% | 45.6% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Abbeville County the poorest county in South Carolina?
No, Abbeville County's poverty rate was 16.7% in 2024, 22nd highest of 46 in South Carolina (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Allendale County, at 31.6%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Abbeville County ranks 35th of 46 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Abbeville County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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South Carolina Legal Services
Legal aid
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Pro Bono Legal Services — SC Bar
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Abbeville County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Abbeville County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.